Managing related digital content

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to one or more configured computing systems identifying companion content and supplemental content for a base content. Companion content may include, for example, video adaptations of the base content. Supplemental content may include content referenced or related in subject matter to the base content. Information regarding companion content may be utilized to enable a user to interchangeably or synchronously present either a base content (e.g., an eBook or audio book) with the companion content (e.g., a movie adaptation). Information regarding supplemental content may be utilized to present the supplemental content during consumption of a base content, or to save supplemental content for later viewing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/070,313, filed Mar. 23, 2011, the priority of the filingdate of which is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120, and the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Generally described, computing devices and communication networksfacilitate the collection and exchange of information. In a commonapplication, computing devices, such as personal computing devices, canutilize a wide area communication network, generally referred to as theInternet, to access content or other data from other computing devicesassociated with content providing entities. The specific design/functionof each computing device can vary the type of content exchanged betweenthe computing devices.

Users can request data from a content providing entity so that thecontent is delivered to one or more computing devices in a relatively“real time” basis. For example, users can request content from a networkresource (e.g., a Web site, Web service, or cloud node) for immediatepresentation on a computing device display screen or they can requestthe immediate transfer of content, such as a document or data file, froma network resource such as a Web service for storage on the computingdevice. In another example, users can transmit a request, or initiate atransaction, that results in the downloading or streaming of content toa computing device. Typically, the content providing entity wouldinitiate the transfer upon receipt of the request from the computingdevice.

Various computing devices associated with a user or a user account mayhave access to different representations of content in different contentmediums. For example, a user may obtain a digital representation ofcontent in a first content medium (e.g., an electronic book or “eBook”)that can be presented on a computing device (e.g., an eBook reader).This content may be referred to as a “base” content. The same user mayalso obtain or have access to the content in a different content medium(e.g., a movie or video corresponding to the eBook), which may be playedon the same computing device or an alternative computing device. Thiscontent may be referred to as “companion” content. The companion contentmay be obtained at a different time and/or from a different source thanthe base content. As a result, the base content and the companioncontent can be decoupled from one another, and additional featuresrelated to the synergy of the base content and the companion content(collectively, the “companion content pair”) are not readily availableto computing devices utilized by the user or associated with the user'saccount maintained by a content provider.

Further, a base content may be associated with additional orsupplemental content. For example, an obtain eBook may mention or relateto subjects or topics that are discussed in more detail in supplementalcontent. Illustratively, a video file may contain an author's in depthdiscussion of a particular subject discussed briefly in the eBook.However, such supplemental content may be made available at a differenttime than the base content, or made available from a different source.As such, the base content and the supplemental content may also bedecoupled from one another, and additional features related to thesynergy of the base content and the supplemental content (collectively,the “supplemental content pair”) may not be readily available tocomputing devices utilized by the user or associated with the user'saccount maintained by a content provider.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages will becomemore readily appreciated as the same become better understood byreference to the following detailed description, when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an illustrative content managementenvironment for use in identifying companion content as well assupplemental content, and for providing synchronization informationregarding the companion content and supplemental content to one or morecomputing devices;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram depicting a companion content managementmodule of a content management system shown in FIG. 1 receivingconsumption information for a base content, identifying a content matchto companion content, and transmitting the companion content as well assynchronization information to a computing device associated with auser;

FIG. 2B is a block diagram depicting a supplemental content managementmodule of the content management system shown in FIG. 1 receivingconsumption information for a base content, identifying a content matchto supplemental content, and transmitting the supplemental content aswell as synchronization information to a computing device associatedwith a user;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting an illustrative embodiment of acomputing device configured to implement playback of companion contentas well as supplemental content;

FIG. 4A is a flow diagram of an illustrative method of presentingsynchronized companion content;

FIG. 4B is a flow diagram of an illustrative method of presentingsupplemental content;

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative control interface that may be used tomanage synchronized playback of companion content; and

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative control interface that may be used tomanage playback of supplemental content.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally described, aspects of the present disclosure relate to themanagement of companion content, supplemental content and/or informationrelated to companion or supplemental content. Specifically, aspects ofthe present disclosure relate to enabling interchangeable presentationof companion content with a base content. For example, a user mayutilize a computing device, such as an eBook reader, to access a basecontent (e.g., an eBook). The user may further obtain or have access tocorresponding companion content in a different content medium (e.g., amovie adaptation, audio book or video file corresponding to the eBook)that can be interchangeably rendered based on synchronizationinformation. For example, a computing device associated with the usermay be configured to switch between output of the base content and thecompanion content based on user selection, such that the companioncontent begins playback at a point corresponding to the last consumedportion of the eBook, or vice versa. Illustratively, a user may read aneBook, and at any point during consumption of the eBook, begin playbackof a corresponding movie adaptation at a corresponding point.Thereafter, the user may switch between consumption of the eBook andconsumption of the corresponding companion content, such that playbackof the two content is interchangeable.

Further, aspects of the present disclosure related to enablingpresentation of supplemental content during consumption of base content,or at a later time. For example, a base content may make reference to ordiscuss subjects or topics also discussed or referenced in supplementalcontent. Illustratively, an eBook may introduce a topic studied in moredetail in a documentary. Accordingly, the user may be enabled to viewsuch supplemental content during consumption of the base content, orsave supplemental content for later viewing. In some embodiments,companion content and supplemental content may be made available forconsumption on the same user computing device that presents a basecontent (e.g., via a tablet computing device capable of outputting bothtext and video). In other embodiments, companion content andsupplemental content may be made available for consumption on adifferent user computing device than the device which outputs the basecontent. For example, as a user consumes an eBook on an eBook reader,companion content and supplemental content regarding the eBook may bedelivered to a user's digital video recorder (“DVR”) device, television,laptop, etc.

As a first example, a user may first obtain a base content, such as acopy of the eBook The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. At the same or adifferent time, the user may obtain or gain access to a correspondingmovie adaptation of the eBook, which may be generally referred to as anexample of companion content. Both of these items of content may be madeavailable on one or more computing devices of the user. In someembodiments, after identifying the base content and the companioncontent (collectively, a base content and a companion content maygenerally be referred to herein as a “companion content pair”) asobtained by or available to the user, a related content managementsystem can cause content synchronization information corresponding tothe companion content to be transmitted to a device of the user. Thesynchronization information may generally facilitate interchangeableplayback of a base content and a companion content, and may contain, forexample, mappings of locations in the base content with locations in thecompanion content. In some embodiments, such as when the user has notyet obtained the companion content, the companion content itself mayalso be transmitted to the device of the user. With the companioncontent and the content synchronization information available on thesame device, the device can interchangeably render the companion content(e.g., from a point at which the user stopped consuming the basecontent) to provide the user with an enhanced experience. An embodimentof a system for obtaining synchronization information for companioncontent may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/070,313,filed Mar. 23, 2011, entitled “SYNCHRONIZING DIGITAL CONTENT”(hereinafter, the '313 application), which was incorporated by referencein its entirety above. For instance, the user may read the text TheAdventures of Huckleberry Finn, and, upon stopping or pausingconsumption of the eBook at a given point (e.g., a given page), beenabled to watch the corresponding movie adaptation from a pointcorresponding to the point at which consumption of the eBook stopped.

As a second example, a user may also be interested in supplementalcontent associated with a base content (e.g., an eBook of The Adventuresof Huckleberry Finn). As such, a related content management system maymonitor consumption of the base content in order to identify, suggest,or delivery to the user supplemental content associated with the base.For instance, during reading of the text The Adventures of HuckleberryFinn, the related content management system may determine subjects ortopics discussed within the text, and deliver supplemental contentregarding those subjects or topics to the user. Illustratively, TheAdventures of Huckleberry Finn may discuss or implicate topics such asthe American South, Mark Twain, youth life during the 19th Century,civil liberties in Pre-Civil War America, etc. As such, a user may beenabled to view a documentary, commentary, or other content, in order tolearn more regarding a subject.

In some embodiments, a single computing device may be enabled to presentbase content, companion content, and supplemental content. For example,a desktop, laptop, or tablet computing device may be enabled to presentboth an eBook content and related video content. In other embodiments,multiple computing devices may be utilized by a user, each able topresent one or more of the base content, companion content, andsupplemental content. For example, a user may utilize an eBook reader(e.g., a dedicated reader) to consume base content, while utilizing atelevision or DVR to consume companion or supplemental content. Further,though base content is discussed in relation to textual content above,in some embodiments, base content may correspond to other contentformats or types. For example, base content may include audio content(e.g., audio books).

A current consumption position of a base content may be monitored forpurposes of presenting companion and supplemental content. Generallyspeaking, a position of consumption of content may refer to anyinformation that reflects a current playback position of a consumedcontent, or to any measurement of an amount of content consumed by auser. For example, a position of consumption of an eBook may beindicated by a given page, chapter, paragraph, line, word, etc., or anycombination thereof. As a further example, a position of consumption ofan audio book may be indicated by a timestamp, a counter, a chapter, alast spoken word, etc., or any combination thereof. In some embodiments,a position of consumption may be reflected as a percentage (e.g., apoint representing 25% of the content has been consumed). In otherembodiments, a position of consumption may be reflected as an absolutevalue (e.g., at 2 hours, 30 minutes and 5 seconds into an audio book).One skilled in the art will appreciate that a position of consumptionmay be reflected by any combination of the above information, or anyadditional information reflective of a playback position of a consumedcontent.

Monitoring of a current consumption position in a base content may occurby a variety of mechanisms. For example, in one embodiment, the currentconsumption position in base content by a user may be monitored byphysical input of the user (e.g., touch input indicating a currentposition). In another embodiment, the current reading position may bedetermined by other inputs, such as the frequency of page turns withincontent. In still more embodiments, non-physical inputs may be utilizedto track the reading of a user. For example, the eye movement of a usermay be tracked to determine a currently read word, or voice recognitionmay be utilized in order to determine a spoken word, sentence,paragraph, etc.

In some embodiments, the base content and corresponding companioncontent or supplemental content in a content pair may be decoupled fromeach other. A content pair may be decoupled, for example, by beingstored on separate computing devices, by being stored in separate datastores that are not part of the same logical memory, by being obtainedvia different transactions, by being obtained at different times, bybeing obtained from different sources, or any combination thereof. Forinstance, a user can buy an eBook and then at a later point in timepurchase a movie adaptation of the eBook from a different vendor. Insuch cases, the user may wish to interchangeably playback the eBook andthe movie (e.g., switch between reading of the eBook and viewing of themovie, or vice versa). As a further example, a user may purchase anaudio book, and at a later point in time gain access to a documentaryreferenced within the audio book. In such cases, a reader may wish torefer to the documentary directly while consuming the audio book.However, when such companion content or supplemental content isdecoupled, it can be difficult to provide the user with a synchronouspresentation experience, such as presenting portions of the companionmovie corresponding to the most recently consumed text of the eBook, ornotifying a user of the existence of a referenced documentary whilereading an eBook.

The decoupled nature of companion content can result in a number ofdifficulties for providing a user with a synchronous presentationexperience. Such difficulties may include, for example, determiningsources from which to obtain content information identifying thecompanion content or supplemental content, identifying that a companioncontent or supplemental content matches a base content, generatingcontent synchronization information needed to synchronize presentationof the base content and companion content or supplemental content,providing content synchronization information to a computing device withaccess to the base content, companion content, and/or supplementalcontent, managing the storage of information related to the basecontent, companion content, and/or supplemental content, or anycombination thereof.

Since base content and corresponding companion content or supplementalcontent may be decoupled from each other, one or more computing devicesmay identify a content match, which indicates that a companion contentor a supplemental content may be a companion of the base content.Further, the one or more computing devices can also identify that a useris associated with and/or has access to the base content and thecompanion content or supplemental content. Based on determining thecontent match, the one or more computing devices can identify areceiving computing device associated with the user, and causetransmission of content synchronization information related to thecompanion content and/or the supplemental content to the receivingcomputing device. Thereafter, the receiving computing device can utilizethe content synchronization information to synchronously orsimultaneously present companion content to the user. Further, thereceiving computing device can utilize the content synchronizationinformation to present the supplemental content in conjunction withconsumption of the base content. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that more than one content may match another content.Accordingly, more than two individual contents may be synchronouslypresented without departing from the scope of the present disclosure(e.g., a base content as well as multiple companion contents). Inaddition, in some embodiments, one or more receiving computing devicesassociated with one or more users may receive the contentsynchronization information and utilize the content synchronizationinformation to present the companion content and/or supplementalcontent.

As an illustrative, non-limiting example, a user may obtain access to acompanion content pair (e.g., an eBook formatted for an eBook reader anda corresponding movie adaptation). More specifically, the user mayinitially obtain a base content, such as an eBook of The Adventures ofHuckleberry Finn, and store the eBook on the user's eBook reader. Insome instances, a movie adaptation of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finnmay become available after the user obtains the base content. Yet, inother instances, a movie adaptation of The Adventures of HuckleberryFinn may already be available when the user obtains the base content.The user may then obtain or gain access to this companion content, e.g.,a movie adaptation of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, via a separatetransaction, which can include purchasing, lending, sharing,transferring, subscribing, or any combination thereof. For example, theuser may subscribe to an electronic movie service which allows movies ormovies to be streamed or downloaded to a user computing device. Afterthe movie adaptation and the eBook are obtained or accessible to theuser, the user may desire to enable interchangeable playback of theeBook and the companion movie.

With regard to the example given above, describing an eBook version ofThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and a corresponding movie adaptation,a related content management system can identify that these items ofcontent constitute a content match (e.g., a base content and a companioncontent). The content management system may thereafter generate contentsynchronization information, enabling a device of the user to playbackthe companion content beginning from the last consumed point of the basecontent. Illustratively, the related content management system may beimplemented by one or more computing devices, which may, in someinstances, include any computing device(s) associated with the user. Theinformation regarding base and companion content may be obtained, forexample, from network resources, such as an external data source thatincludes purchase information associated with a user or user account,and/or from information the user shares from a computing device, such alist of content available to the computing device.

Though the example given above refers to companion content, a basecontent and supplemental content may be similarly decoupled. Forexample, a user a purchase The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and at alater point in time, acquire or gain access to an item of supplementalcontent referenced by or sharing subject matter with the base content.Similarly to as discussed above, a content management system maygenerate content synchronization information, enabling a device of theuser to playback the supplemental content during consumption of the basecontent, or at a later point in time.

In addition to identifying a content match, the content managementsystem can also identify a computing device associated with the userthat can present companion content or supplemental content, such as atelevision, DVR, or laptop of the user. A particular version of thecontent synchronization information may be transmitted to the identifieddevice in order to be compatible with the companion content and/orsupplemental content that are presented using the identified computingdevice and/or be compatible with identified computing device itself. Forexample, a different version of content synchronization information maybe provided to a television versus a laptop, based on different formatsused to visually present the companion content, such as a movie. Theidentified computing device may already store the companion content orsupplemental content, or the content management system may cause atleast a portion of the companion content or supplemental content to betransmitted to the identified computing device.

Illustratively, with a companion content and the content synchronizationinformation available to one or more computing devices, the computingdevices can interchangeably present the companion content pair toprovide the user with an enhanced content consumption experience. Forinstance, as described above, the user may read an eBook of TheAdventures of Huckleberry Finn and be enabled to begin consumption ofthe movie adaptation from the point of last consumption of the eBook.Further, with a supplemental content and the content synchronizationinformation available to one or more computing devices, the computingdevices may identify the existence of supplemental content duringconsumption of the base content to provide the user with an enhancedcontent consumption experience. For instance, as described above, theuser may read an eBook of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and benotified of the existence of (and provided access to) supplementalcontent referencing similar subject matter.

Though generally described above with reference to interchangeablepresentation, in some embodiments, synchronous presentation may also befacilitated by synchronization information. For example, a user may wishto view a movie adaptation of an eBook while monitoring the eBook textitself (e.g., to locate differences or inconsistencies between the basecontent and the companion content). As such, a companion content mayplay on a user computing device, while the eBook is displayed andsynchronized on the same or a different user computing device. Suchsynchronization may include, for example, turning the pages of the eBookduring consumption of the movie. As a further example, some audio booksmay contain portions which are sourced from original video files (e.g.,if an audio book references or plays back a portion of a television showor movie). Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure may beutilized to synchronously playback the original video file inconjunction with the audio book. Moreover, in some embodiments, a usermay be enabled to identify companion content for future consumption. Forexample, a user may bookmark portions of a base content, and thereafter,corresponding portions of the companion content may be delivered to theuser's device for later consumption.

Further, while reference may generally be made to movie adaptations orvideo files, the current disclosure should not be limited to pureadaptations, authorized adaptations, or any other specific type ofcompanion content. For example, companion content may include, but isnot limited to, fan-generated content and made for television video(e.g., a television series adaptation, a miniseries, or a made fortelevision movie). In addition, supplemental content may include anycontent referenced by or sharing subject matter with a base content,including but not limited to, movies, television shows, documentaries,educational videos, interviews, commentaries (e.g., by an author,critic, or other part), fan generated content, spin-offs, retellings,and derivative works. For example, supplemental content may correspondto the same general content or story as a base content, but may be toldfrom a different point of view. Moreover, supplemental content mayinclude content describing side characters or minor characters of a basecontent in greater detail.

With reference now to FIG. 1, a block diagram depicting an illustrativecontent management environment 100 for use in identifying companioncontent and supplemental content related to a base content, generatingcontent synchronization information for both companion content andsupplemental content, and managing the content synchronizationinformation will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the contentmanagement environment 100 includes a related content management system102, one or more computing devices 104, and one or more network datasources 108 in communication via a network 106, as well as a contentdata store 120 in communication with the content management system 102(e.g., via a network). The network 106, in addition to any of thenetworks described herein, may be any wired network, wireless network orcombination thereof. In addition, any of the networks described hereinmay be a personal area network, local area network, wide area network,cable network, satellite network, cellular telephone network, etc., orany combination thereof.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the content management environment 100 caninclude one or more computing devices 104 for presenting content to auser. In an illustrative embodiment, the computing devices 104 caninclude various hardware and/or software components for obtaining andpresenting digital content to a user, including, but not limited to,browser software applications, image viewing software applications,electronic publication viewing software applications, audio and/or videomedia playing software applications, and the like. The computing devices104 can correspond to a wide variety of devices or components that arecapable of initiating, receiving or facilitating communications over acommunication network and/or presenting content. The computing devices104 can include, but are not limited to, a laptop, personal computer, atablet computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), hybrid PDA/mobilephone, mobile phone, electronic book reader, digital media player,television, DVR, one or more processors, integrated components forinclusion in computing devices, appliances, electronic devices forinclusion in vehicles or machinery, gaming devices, and the like. Oneexample of a computing device 104 will be described in more detail withrespect to FIG. 3, below.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the content management system 102can include an external data source interface component 112, a computingdevice interface component 114, a companion content identificationmodule 116, a companion content management module 118, a supplementalcontent identification module 122, and a supplemental content managementmodule 124. Illustratively, the external data source interface component112 may be utilized for obtaining content information from network-basedresources, such as the network data sources 108. Further, the computingdevice interface component 114 may be utilized for obtaining contentinformation from computing devices 104. The content information obtainedfrom the network data sources 108 and/or the computing devices 104 mayinclude any information that can be used to identify a content matchand/or a device to send content synchronization information. Forinstance, the content information may include information thatidentifies content, information associating content with a user or groupof users, and/or information related to the content itself. By obtainingcontent information from different sources and/or at different points intime, the content management system 102 can be used to gather datarelated to decoupled content. In this way, the content management system102 can identify relationships between decoupled content that mayotherwise be unknown due to the decoupled nature of the content.

The content management system 102 can also include a companion contentmanagement module 116 for identifying a content match, identifying acomputing device 104 to transmit content synchronization information to,and causing transmission of content synchronization information to oneor more computing devices 104 via the network 106, or any combinationthereof. The external data source interface component 112 and thecomputing device interface component 114 may be utilized to cause thetransmission of information to the one or more network data sources 108and/or one or more computing devices 104, respectively. Illustrativeembodiments of interaction including the companion content managementmodule 116 will be described in more detail with respect to FIG. 2Abelow.

The content management system 102 can also include a companion contentidentification module 118 for processing the content information fromthe network data sources 108 and determining which contents arecompanion content that can be synchronized (e.g., a base content and oneor more companion contents). The companion content identification module118 may use a product identifier and/or metadata (e.g., title, author,edition, etc.) related to a base content in order to determine othercontent which constitutes companion content. For instance, suchinformation can be used to determine a movie or video exists thatcorresponds to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn eBook or audio book.In some implementations, the companion content identification module 118may further process the content information to identify companioncontent by applying filtering, spell/grammar check, and any othersuitable automated algorithms. In addition, the companion contentidentification module 118 can incorporate additional reference materialsto identify a content match, for instance, by accessing a uniformresource identifier.

Further, the companion content identification module 118 may comparepairs or other combinations of content to determine whether eachpair/combination constitutes companion content, for example, bycorrelating each pair/combination of content in a common format. Morespecifically, if the content information corresponds to informationrelated to the presentation of a specific representation of content(e.g., a movie or video), the companion content identification module118 may translate at least a portion of the content into a formatcorresponding to a different version of the content (e.g., translatingaudio of the movie or video into a specific eBook format) and/or into ageneric format (e.g., text). The formatted content information can becorrelated with other content information to determine whether each pairof content corresponds to companion content that can be synchronized. Inother implementations, the companion content identification module 102may prompt a user to enter data (e.g., title, author, edition, etc.) forone or more base contents. The companion content identification module116 may compare the data in order to identify corresponding companioncontent. In yet other implementations, the companion contentidentification module 118 may prompt a user to confirm that the base andcompanion content are indeed a companion content pair.

Though automated mechanisms for identifying a companion content pair aredescribed herein, embodiments of the present disclosure may utilizemanual or semi-manual methods in conjunction with or exclusive ofautomated mechanisms. For example, in some embodiments, one or moreparties may manually classify an item of content as companion content toa given base content. Accordingly, a producer or other entity associatedwith a movie adaptation of the eBook may classify the movie adaptationas companion content to the eBook. As a further example, a distributeror other entity associated with sale of an eBook or movie adaptation mayclassify the items as a companion content pair. Still further, generalusers of a system (such as the content management system herein) mayidentify items as constituting a companion content pair. One skilled inthe art will appreciate that a multitude of voting or crowd-sourcingtechniques may be utilized to aggregate or filter input from a varietyof sources.

In some instances, even though a base content and a companion contentmay be a companion content pair, the base content may not correlateexactly to the companion content. For example, the eBook of TheAdventures of Huckleberry Finn may not exhibit a one-to-onecorrespondence to a movie adaptation of the original text, due todifferences between the script of the movie and the text of the eBook,stylistic or editing differences, etc. Due to the existence of suchuncorrelated portions of potential companion content, the companioncontent identification module 116 can be configured to identifycompanion content pairs amongst combination of content that includemismatching portions. Illustrative examples of routines for correlatingmismatched content will be described in more detail with reference toFIG. 4A below.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the content management system 102can further include a supplemental content management module 124 foridentifying a content match between base content and supplementalcontent, identifying a computing device 104 to transmit supplementalcontent synchronization information to, and causing transmission ofsupplemental content synchronization information to one or morecomputing devices 104 via the network 106, or any combination thereof.The external data source interface component 112 and the computingdevice interface component 114 may be utilized to cause the transmissionof information to the one or more network data sources 108 and/or one ormore computing devices 104, respectively. Illustrative embodiments ofinteraction including the supplemental content management module 124will be described in more detail with respect to FIG. 2B below.

The content management system 102 can also include a supplementalcontent identification module 122 for processing the content informationfrom the network data sources 108 and determining which contentsconstitute supplemental content to a given base content. Thesupplemental identification module 122 may use a product identifierand/or metadata (e.g., title, author, edition, etc.) related to a basecontent in order to determine other content which constitutessupplemental content. For instance, such information can be used todetermine videos or other content which reference the base content orsubjects of the base content. In some implementations, the supplementalcontent identification module 122 may further process the contentinformation to identify supplemental content by applying filtering,spell/grammar check, and any other suitable automated algorithms. Inaddition, the supplemental content identification module 122 canincorporate additional reference materials to identify a content match,for instance, by accessing a uniform resource identifier.

In some embodiments, the supplemental content identification module 122may identify supplemental content based on portions of a base content.For example, the supplemental content identification module 122 may beconfigured to select certain words or phrases of a base content (e.g.,an eBook or an audio book), and perform a search algorithm to determineone or more items of supplemental content. Such a search algorithm mayutilize, for example, a search engine. Search engines are well known inthe art, and therefore will not be described in detail herein. In someembodiments, a search algorithm may identify a relevancy of a searchresult (e.g., as a percentage of potential relevancy). In some suchembodiments, the supplemental content identification module 122 may beconfigured to identify only results above a given relevancy assupplemental content. In other embodiments, the supplemental contentidentification module 122 may identify only the top search result assupplemental content. Where supplemental content is found based onsearching a certain word or phrase within a base content, thesupplemental content may be linked to that specific word or phrase.

In other embodiments, the supplemental content identification module 122may identify supplemental content relevant to the entirety of a basecontent. For example, the supplemental content identification module 122may identify interviews with the author of an eBook, reviews orcommentary regarding an eBook, or other supplemental content regardingan eBook (or other base content). Similar to the discussion above, thesupplemental content identification module 122 may utilize searchalgorithms, such as by use of a search engine, to identify suchsupplemental content. Generally, supplemental content regarding theentirety of a base content may be accessible at a given point within thebase content (e.g., a special section within an eBook that displayssupplemental content), or at any point within the base content. Furtherexamples of routines for identifying supplemental content will bediscussed with reference to FIG. 4B, below.

Though automated mechanisms for identifying a supplemental content pairare described herein, embodiments of the present disclosure may utilizemanual or semi-manual methods in conjunction with or exclusive ofautomated mechanisms. For example, in some embodiments, one or moreparties may manually classify an item of content as supplemental contentto a given base content. For example, a producer or other entityassociated with a documentary or video of a subject discussed within aneBook may classify the documentary or video as supplemental content tothe eBook. As a further example, a distributer or other entityassociated with sale of an eBook, documentary, or video may classify theitems as a supplemental content pair. Still further, general users of asystem (such as the content management system herein) may identify itemsas constituting a supplemental content pair. One skilled in the art willappreciate that a multitude of voting or crowd-sourcing techniques maybe utilized to aggregate or filter input from a variety of sources.

In some embodiments, the content management system 102 can also cause anotification to be sent in response to identifying a new item of eithercompanion content or supplemental content. For example, when a new itemof companion content becomes available (e.g., a new movie adaptation ofThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), a notification that companioncontent is available can be sent to users who already own correspondingbase content (e.g., The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn eBook). As afurther example, when a new item of supplemental content is identified(e.g., a new documentary regarding civil liberties in Pre-Civil WarAmerica), a notification may be sent to users who own corresponding basecontent, or users who have previously expressed interest in the subjectmatter. Such a notification can be sent, for example, via electronicmail, push notification, telephony message, automatic download requestor any network messaging or communication protocol available between acomputing device and the content management system 102. The notificationcan be sent to a computing device that is configured to present contentand/or that stores the corresponding content. This notification may beused by the computing device to inform and/or assist a user in obtainingthe companion content via purchase (e.g., via a browser used to navigatean electronic shopping service that offers the companion content forsale), lending, sharing, and/or transfer of ownership services. Further,notifications, messages, and/or other communications regarding companioncontent can be sent in a variety of other contexts. Some examplecontexts can include a user browsing available content before the userhas access to any of the content, and sending a user a promotional offerto sample companion content (e.g., a chapter of an eBook and a segmentof a corresponding movie or video) or supplemental content (e.g., achapter of an eBook and a segment of a related documentary).

Though generally described herein with reference to supplemental contentthat is immediately or substantially immediately available foracquisition by an end user, in some embodiments, supplemental contentmay correspond to indications or placeholders that additional contentmay become available in the future. For example, an author of a basecontent (e.g., a novel) referencing a minor character may intend, at alater point in time, to create additional content regarding thatcharacter. As such, supplemental content may include an indication thatthe additional content will become available at a point in the future.Further, such supplemental content may be modified at the time ofrelease of the additional content, such that the notification orplaceholder is replaced with the additional content. Illustratively,following the previous example, at the point that an author releasesadditional content regarding the minor character, that content may thenconstitute supplemental content to the original novel, and theplaceholder or notification may be removed. Moreover, future content maynot be required to come from the original author of a base content, butmay include planned content identified by publishers, distributors,users, or any other entity. In some embodiments, future contentplaceholders may be used to identify interest in additional content. Forexample, an author may include a placeholder to a potential additionalcontent in order to gauge interest in the content (e.g., by trackinguser selection of the placeholder).

The content management system 102 can further be associated with thecontent data store 120 for storing content information obtained by theexternal data source interface component 122, utilized and/or generatedby the content management system 102. The content data store 120 maystore content information used to determine whether content is eithercompanion content or supplemental content, data identifying companioncontent pairs or supplemental content pairs, and additional information.For instance, the content data store 120 may store a list, database, orother suitable data structure that identifies companion content and/orsupplemental content as determined by the content management system 102.

The content management system 102 may be operable on one or morecomputing devices, such as virtual or physical server computing devices,cloud nodes, client computing devices, and/or mobile computing devices.Additionally, the external data source interface component 122 and/orthe companion content identification module 116 may be implemented in asingle computing device or across multiple computing devices. Likewise,although the content data store 120 is illustrated as local to thecontent management system 102, the data store 120 can correspond to adistributed data store and/or a network based data store. The contentmanagement system 102 may include any one of a number of additionalhardware and/or software components that would be utilized in theillustrative computerized network environment to carry out theillustrative functions of the content management system 102 and/or anyof the individually identified components.

Referring to FIG. 2A, one illustrative interaction for providingsynchronization information related to companion content will bedescribed. At (1), the companion content management module 118 of FIG. 1may identify a content match between at item of base content (e.g., anitem previously acquired by a user) and one or more items of companioncontent. The companion content management module 118 may identify such acontent match, for example, in conjunction with the companion contentidentification module 116 of FIG. 1, or by use of data previouslygenerated by the companion content identification module 116. In someembodiments, companion content pairs can be identified in response togathering new content information (e.g., the purchase of a new item ofbase content by a user), or may be identified at predetermined intervalsof time (e.g., every day, week, etc.). Alternatively or additionally,companion content pairs can be identified from information available tothe content management system 102 on demand in response to a userrequest or system generated event obtained via the network 106. Forexample, in some instances, a user may begin to consume a base content,and companion content may be determined and/or presented to the user inreal time or substantially real time.

Thereafter, at (2), the companion content management module 118 maynotify a user computing device 104A (e.g., an illustrative usercomputing device 104 of FIG. 1) of the availability of the companioncontent. Such a notification may enable a user of the computing device104A to decide whether to synchronize a base content and the items ofcompanion content, and if so, to which devices the companion contentshould be synchronized. Illustratively, the computing device 104A maycorrespond to an eBook reader holding a copy of The Adventures ofHuckleberry Finn. The user of the computing device 104A may be promptedthat a movie adaptation of the eBook exists, and that it is possible tosynchronize this movie adaptation (or portions thereof) to the user'sother computing devices (such as computing device 104B, which maycorrespond to a DVR, a television, a laptop, or any other computingdevice capable of displaying video). In some embodiments, the computingdevice 104A may also be capable of displaying video content, and assuch, the companion content may be synchronized on the computing device104A. One example of a user interface for notifying a computing device104A that companion content may be synchronized will be described inmore detail with respect to FIG. 5, below.

In response to a notification that companion content is available, thecomputing device 104A, at (3), may request synchronization informationregarding the base content and the companion content. Illustratively,this may correspond to a user request to synchronize a companion contentpair, such as in response to a notification that companion contentexists. In the illustrative interaction of FIG. 2A, the user may requestthat companion content by synchronized to the computing device 104B(e.g., their DVR or their personal computer).

Thereafter, at (4), consumption of base content may be monitored inorder to facilitate synchronization of the companion content. Suchmonitoring may correspond to a determination of the current position ofconsumption of a base content (e.g., a currently read word, sentence, orpage of an eBook, or a current playback position of an audio book). Asdescribed above, a position of consumption of a base content may bemonitored based on, for example, physical input of the user (e.g., touchinput indicating a current position), the frequency of page turns withincontent, the eye movement of a user (to determine a currently readword), or voice recognition (e.g., if the user is reading out loud).

At (5), consumption information may be transmitted to the companioncontent management module 118. Illustratively, the consumptioninformation can identify a current position of consumption of the basecontent on the computing device 104A (e.g., based on the previouslyperformed monitoring). The consumption information may be utilized bythe companion content management module 118 to determine a startingposition of playback within the companion content. For example, if auser stopped reading an eBook at page X, the companion contentmanagement module may instruct the computing device 104B to beginplayback of the companion content (e.g., a movie adaptation of theeBook) at a point corresponding to page X.

At (6), the companion content management module 118 may identify areceiving computing device 104 (such as computing device 104B) toreceive synchronization information. In this illustrative embodiment,the companion content management module 118 may identify the computingdevice 104B to receive synchronization information based on the userselection of receiving computing devices 104, discussed above.Generally, synchronization information may refer to any information thatenables synchronous playback of a base content and a companion content.Synchronization information may be generated by the companion contentidentification module 116, as will be described in more detail belowwith respect to FIG. 4A. Illustratively, synchronization information mayinclude a mapping of portions of a base content to portions of acompanion content. For example, each point within an eBook (or range ofpoints within an eBook) may be mapped to a point within a movieadaptation of the eBook.

Thereafter, at (7), the synchronization information may be transmittedto the computing device 104B. As such, the computing device 104B may beenabled to begin playback of the companion content from a pointcorresponding to a last consumed point of the base content.Illustratively, transmission of synchronization information may enable auser to halt consumption of a base content and immediately (orsubstantially immediately) begin viewing companion content on thecomputing device 104B.

In some embodiments, the receiving computing device 104 may receivesynchronization information without obtaining access to any portion ofcontent of a companion content pair associated with the synchronizationinformation and/or prior to obtaining access to any portion of contentof a companion content pair associated with the synchronizationinformation. For example, the synchronization information may betransmitted with an offer to obtain the companion content, such thatwhen a user utilizes the computing device 104B, the user is enabled toobtain the companion content. In some instances, this offer may requirethe user to purchase the companion content. In other instances, the usermay already have access to the companion content (e.g., via asubscription server), and as such, no additional payment would berequired.

In other embodiments, the companion content management module 118 may beenabled to transmit all or a portion of the companion content to thereceiving computing device 104B. For example, where the user has accessto the companion content (e.g., the user has already purchased thecompanion content or the companion content is free) the companioncontent management module 118 may be configured to transmit thecompanion content to the computing device 104B prior to or simultaneousto transmission of the synchronization information. In some embodiments,the companion content management module 118 may be configured to detectwhether the computing device 104B already has access to the companioncontent, and transmit the companion content (or a relevant portionthereof) only if the computing device 104B does not already have accessto the content.

In still more embodiments, the companion content may be available to,but not stored on, the receiving computing device 104B. For example, thecompanion content may be a video or movie stored on a remote data storedevice (e.g., network data stores 108 of FIG. 1). These network datastores 108 may be configured to stream the companion content to thecomputing device 104B in real time or substantially real time. As such,the computing device 104B may not be required to store the companioncontent itself.

Referring to FIG. 2B, one illustrative interaction for providingsynchronization information for supplemental content will be described.The illustrative interaction of FIG. 2B may include a user computingdevice 104C, which may correspond to any of the computing devices 104 ofFIG. 1 described above. For the purposes of FIG. 2B, it is assumed thatthe user of the computing device 104C has acquired a base content, suchas an eBook or audio book of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and hasfurther requested that information regarding supplemental content (e.g.,videos, documentaries, etc., which related to subject matter discussedin the eBook or audio book) be delivered to the computing device 104C.It is further assumed that the computing device 104C is capable ofoutputting both the base content and the supplemental content. Forexample, computing device 104C may correspond to a personal computer, atablet, or a mobile phone. In some embodiments, however, supplementalinformation may be delivered to a separate computing device 104, suchthat the computing device 104C may not be required to output both a basecontent and a supplemental content. For example, the computing device104C may be an eBook reader capable of outputting an eBook, but notcapable of outputting supplemental video content. As such, the user mayrequest that this supplemental content be delivered to a separatecomputing device (not shown in FIG. 2B).

With continued reference to FIG. 2B, at (1), consumption of base contentmay be monitored in order to facilitate synchronization of the companioncontent. As discussed above with reference to FIG. 2A, such monitoringmay correspond to a determination of the current position of consumptionof a base content (e.g., a currently read word, sentence, or page of aneBook, or a current playback position of an audio book). As alsodescribed above, a position of consumption of a base content may bemonitored based on, for example, physical input of the user (e.g., touchinput indicating a current position), the frequency of page turns withincontent, the eye movement of a user (to determine a currently readword), or voice recognition (e.g., if the user is reading out loud).

At (2), consumption information may be transmitted to the supplementalcontent management module 124. As described above with respect to FIG.2A, the consumption information can identify a current position ofconsumption of the base content on the computing device 104C (e.g.,based on the previously performed monitoring).

At (3), the consumption information may be utilized by the supplementalcontent management module 124 to determine relevant supplemental contentrelated to a current consumption position of the base content. Forexample, in some embodiments, supplemental content may be identifiedthat relates to certain words, sentences, or paragraphs within thecurrently consumed portion of the base content. The supplemental contentmanagement module 124 may identify such supplemental content, forexample, in conjunction with the supplemental content identificationmodule 122 of FIG. 1, or by use of data previously generated by thesupplemental content identification module 122. Identification ofsupplemental content by the supplemental content identification module122 will be discussed in more detail with respect to FIG. 4B, below.

Thereafter, at (4), the relevant supplemental content information may betransmitted to the computing device 104C. As such, at (5) the computingdevice 104C may be display information regarding relevant supplementalinformation during output of the base content. For example, thecomputing device 104C may highlight words, sentences, or paragraphswithin the base content that are associated with supplemental content.One example of a user interface for identifying relevant supplementalinformation to a user is described below with reference to FIG. 6. Aswill be described below, in some embodiments, the computing device 104Cmay be configured to retrieve supplemental content based on userselection of a corresponding word, sentence, or paragraph, and todisplay supplemental content. For example, a user may read the eBook TheAdventures of Huckleberry Finn, select a word related to a givensubject, and immediately (or substantially immediately) view adocumentary or other video regarding the subject. In other embodiments,the user may be enabled to select an item of supplemental content forfuture output. For example, the user may be able to add the supplementalcontent to a queue for future viewing. In still more embodiments, theuser may be enabled to output supplemental content on a distinctcomputing device. For example, the user may select an item ofsupplemental content on an eBook reader, and the supplemental content orinformation related to the content may be sent to a DVR (not shown inFIG. 2B) for playback.

In some embodiments, the supplemental content management module 124 maysend items of supplemental content to a selected computing device, suchas computing device 104C, in order to enable the computing device toplayback the supplemental content. Transmission of supplemental contentmay occur at any point prior to output of the supplemental content. Forexample, supplemental content may be transmitted to a computing deviceon user selection of the supplemental content (e.g., while consuming abase content) or simultaneously with transmission of the relevantsupplemental content information. In still more embodiments, thesupplemental content management module 124 may transmit other accessinformation to a computing device (such as computing device 104C oranther user computing device 104) to enable the computing device toaccess the supplemental information. Access information may include, forexample, a uniform resource locator (URL) to the supplementalinformation, or any other information that enables a computing device toaccess or obtain the supplemental information.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a computingdevice 300 configured to implement playback of base content, companioncontent, and supplemental content, such as computing device 104 ofFIG. 1. Though reference will be made herein to a device that mayplayback all of base content, companion content, and supplementalcontent, in some embodiments, a device may be operable to playback lessthan all of base content, companion content, and supplemental content.For example, a device may operable to playback only base content, onlysupplemental content, only companion content, or any combinationtherein. As described above, a user may utilize multiple devices inorder to playback any combination of the above contents.

The computing device 300 may have one or more processors 302 incommunication with a network interface 304, a display interface 306, acomputer readable medium drive 308, and an input/output device interface310, all of which communicate with one another by way of a communicationbus. The network interface 304 may provide connectivity to one or morenetworks or computing systems. The processor(s) 302 may thus receiveinformation and instructions from other computing systems or servicesvia a network. The processor(s) 302 may also communicate to and frommemory 312 and further provide output information or receive inputinformation via the display interface 306 and/or the input/output deviceinterface 310. The input/output device interface 310 may accept inputfrom one or more input devices 324, including, but not limited to,keyboards, mice, trackballs, trackpads, joysticks, input tablets, trackpoints, touch screens, remote controls, game controllers, heart ratemonitors, velocity sensors, voltage or current sensors, motiondetectors, cameras, microphones, or any other input device capable ofobtaining a position or magnitude value from a user. The input/outputinterface may also provide output via one or more output devices 322,including, but not limited to, display devices, one or more speakers orany of a variety of digital or analog audio capable output ports,including, but not limited to, headphone jacks, ¼ inch jacks, XLR jacks,stereo jacks, Bluetooth links, RCA jacks, optical ports or USB ports, asdescribed above. The display interface 306 may be associated with anynumber of visual or tactile interfaces incorporating any of a number ofactive or passive display technologies (e.g., electronic-ink, LCD, LEDor OLED, CRT, projection, etc.) or technologies for the display ofBraille or other tactile information.

Memory 312 may include computer program instructions that theprocessor(s) 302 executes in order to implement one or more embodiments.The memory 312 generally includes RAM, ROM and/or other persistent ornon-transitory computer-readable media. Memory 312 may store apresentation component 314 for managing the output of information to adisplay and/or other output device(s) 322 via the display interface 306and/or input/output interface 310. The memory 312 may further include auser control component 316 for managing and obtaining user inputinformation received for one or more input device 324 via theinput/output device interface 310. In one embodiment, the user controlcomponent 316 may additionally interpret user input information in orderto monitor playback of a base content.

Memory 312 may further store a monitoring component 320. In oneembodiment, the monitoring component 320 may be utilized to monitor thecurrent presentation of a base content, in order to facilitate output ofcompanion content and/or supplemental content. In one embodiment, themonitoring component 320 may utilize a touch screen or other physicalinput of the computing device 300 to receive an indication of thecurrent position of consumption of the base content. For example, a userutilizing the computing device 300 may use their finger to indicate acurrently read word within a base content. As such, the computing device320 may monitor the location of consumption of the base content. Inanother embodiment, the monitoring component 320 may monitor otheraspects of presentation of a base content in order to determine acurrent consumption position. For example, the monitoring component 320may calculate an average consumption speed based on the page turn rateassociated with the base content. The monitoring component 320 mayestimate the current consumption position of the base content based onthe monitored page turn rate. In still more embodiments, the monitoringcomponent 320 may utilize other inputs 324 of the computing device 300in order to monitor a consumption location of a base content. Forexample, the monitoring component 320 may utilize a camera input device324 to track the eye movement of a user. This eye movement may be usedto estimate the word viewed on a display output device 324 by the user.As such, the monitoring component 320 may estimate the currentconsumption position of base content by determining the position of thecurrently read word within the base content. As a further example, anaudio input device 324 may be used to determine a current consumptionposition of base content. For example, the monitoring component 320 mayutilize a text to speech process to determine the last spoken word,sentence, etc. by a user. By locating the last spoken word within thebase content, a current consumption position within base content may bedetermined.

In addition, memory 312 may store a synchronization component 318. Inone embodiment, the synchronization component 318 may interpret asynchronization file obtained from a local or network storage location(not shown) in order to facilitate interchangeable playback of basecontent and companion content, or to facilitate display of supplementalcontent or indicators that supplemental content exists. In oneembodiment, the synchronization file contains content synchronizationinformation associated with the companion content and/or supplementalcontent, and can be generated, transmitted, and/or obtained viacomputing devices in a communication network, such as from the contentmanagement system 102 of FIG. 1. As described above, the contentsynchronization information can include any data related to thesynchronous and/or interchangeable presentation of the base content andthe companion content, as well as data related to the applicability ofsupplemental content within a base content. Content synchronizationinformation can include reference points mapping portions of the basecontent to corresponding portions of the companion content and/orsupplemental content. In a specific example, content synchronizationinformation can include data that can be used to map a segment of text(e.g., a word, line, sentence, etc.) to a timestamp of a correspondingcompanion video recording or movie, or to a corresponding documentary orvideo commentary. The synchronous presentation of the companion contentor supplemental content can vary as a function of the capabilitiesand/or configuration of the device (e.g., an eBook reader vs. a DVR)and/or the formats of the content in the content pair (e.g., a digitalpublication and an audio recording vs. a video and an audio recording).Accordingly, the content synchronization information can be generated ina variety of formats, versions, etc. In addition, the contentsynchronization information can include any combination of features ordata used to synchronize content disclosed in the '313 Application.

Though described above as a computing device which received informationvia a network (e.g., from a content management system 102 of FIG. 1), insome embodiments, a computing device 300 may include additional oralternative components which implement one or more of thefunctionalities of the content management system 102. As such, in someembodiments, a computing device 300 may not require connection to anexternal data source in order to implement embodiments of thisdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4A, a flow diagram of an illustrative method 400 forenabling interchangeable presentation of a base content and companioncontent will be described. The method 400 may be utilized, for example,by the content management system 102 of FIG. 1. At block 402, a contentmatch of a base content and companion content may be identified. Acontent match may be determined in whole or part by the companioncontent identification module 116 of FIG. 1. Illustratively, thiscontent match may indicate that a given item of base content correspondsto one or more items of companion content. As described above, a contentmatch may be identified based on a number of factors including, but notlimited to, algorithmic determination of a content match or manualdetermination of a content match. For example, a manual determination ofa content match may include a determination by the operator of thecontent management system 102 that a match exists, a determination by acontent provider (e.g., associated with either the base content or thecompanion content) that a content match exists, or a determination byone or more users of the content management system 102 that a contentmatch exists (e.g., utilizing voting or crowd-sourcing protocols).

As described above, in some embodiments, the companion contentidentification module 116 may use a product identifier and/or metadata(e.g., title, author, edition, etc.) related to a base content in orderto determine other content which constitutes companion content. Forinstance, such information can be used to determine a movie or videoexists which corresponds to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn eBook oraudio book. In some implementations, the companion contentidentification module 116 may further process the content information toidentify companion content by applying filtering, spell/grammar check,and any other suitable automated algorithms. In addition, the companioncontent identification module 116 can incorporate additional referencematerials to identify a content match, for instance, by accessing auniform resource identifier.

After identifying a content match between a base content and a companioncontent (e.g., The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn eBook and acorresponding movie adaptation), the content management system 102 maygenerate synchronization information enabling interchangeable playbackof the base content and the companion content. For example,synchronization information may map portions of a base content (e.g., apage, paragraph, or word number, or a position in an audio book) withportions of the companion content (e.g., a time stamp of the videocontent).

In some embodiments, base content and companion content may notcorrelate perfectly. For example, a movie adaptation may leave outdescriptive text within an eBook, or entire portions of a text (e.g.,for artistic, stylistic, or practical purposes). Although more detailwill be provided below with reference to correlating portions of aneBook and a movie adaptation of the eBook, the concepts described may beapplied to any application in which a base and companion content includemismatching portions. Despite differences between a companion contentand a base content, companion content may include large portions ofunmodified material that may strongly correlate with the base content.Accordingly, in some embodiments, the companion content identificationmodule 116 may detect mismatches between a base content and a companioncontent using algorithms that solve “longest common sequence” problems,an implementation of which can be found, for example, in the UNIX “diff”operation. The companion content identification module 116 can thengenerate content synchronization information for the correlated portionsof the different versions and provide the content synchronizationinformation to the user's computing device for use when interchangeablypresenting an eBook and a movie adaptation of the eBook. Morespecifically, the companion content identification module 116 cancorrelate unmodified material similarly to how an eBook and full orexact adaptation or recitation of the book into video may be correlated.

For passages of a movie or video with small-scale modifications, thecompanion content identification module 116 may correlate the modifiedmaterial and generate an indicator that these portions include somemismatches. For example, a potential companion content pair (e.g., abase content and a companion content) can be converted into a commonformat, such as text and/or phoneme. In some embodiments, machinetranslation techniques may be utilized for such translation. Then anattempt to match content at a small scale (e.g., at a word level) can beperformed. Since missing or added passages can include larger portions(e.g., whole sentences or paragraphs) that do not match, a passagemismatch score indicating the frequency of mismatches can be computedfor sentences, paragraphs, and/or other units of text. For example, thepassage mismatch score may represent a number and/or percentage of wordmismatches for a larger portion of text (e.g., a sentence, paragraph, orpage). Sequences of larger portions with similarly high mismatchfrequencies compared with adjoining sequences (where “high” can be setempirically from analyzing correlation of known companion content) canbe identified. These sequences may represent content that should not besynchronized with other content in a companion content pair. The highmismatch passages can be removed in either or both contents, andmatching can be reattempted at a smaller scale (e.g., at the wordlevel). Metadata can be generated based on the correlation(s) todetermine alignment points for the content synchronization information.The metadata may also include information identifying reference pointsin at least one of the companion content at which a matching portionbegins/ends.

In some embodiments, certain portions or classes of portions of acompanion content may be more likely to correlate to a base content thanother portions or classes of portions. For example, quotations or dialogwithin a base content may be more likely to directly correspond toquotations or dialog within companion content than descriptive language.Illustratively, a movie adaptation of an eBook may maintain a majorityof dialog as audio content, but remove descriptive language (e.g., infavor of visual representation). As such, in some embodiments, thecontent identification module 116 may attempt to match quotations ordialog within a base content with audio information within a companioncontent. Further, formal names (e.g., character names or place names)may be indicative of a correlation between base content and companioncontent. Illustratively, a character may be introduced at a certainpoint within the base content (e.g., at 30% into the duration of anaudio book). As such, the content identification module 116 may beconfigured to locate the first introduction of the character into acompanion content, and attempt to map this location to the introductionwithin the base content. For example, the content identification module116 may attempt to map the introduction (or removal) of non-standardwords or phrases (e.g., non-dictionary words or phrases) in a basecontent over time, and compare an additional mapping created based on acompanion content. Similarities in the mappings may indicate that thepoints within the base content and the companion content should becorrelated.

Returning to FIG. 4A, the companion content identification module 118may also determine a match score indicative of how well a base contentcorrelates with a companion content. The match score may apply to theentire base content and companion content or to a subset thereof (e.g.,a chapter, act, or part). The match score may be indicative of theoverall quality of synchronously presenting the companion content, whilethe passage mismatch score described above may be useful insynchronously presenting the companion content, for example. The matchscore may be calculated like the passage mismatch score described above.In some instances, the match score can correspond to a percentage orratio of any unit of the base content correlating to a correspondingunit of the companion content. In a specific example, the match scorecan be the percentage of dialog in an eBook that correlate tocorresponding dialog in a movie adaptation of the eBook. The match scoremay be used to determine whether pairs of content constitute a companioncontent pair. For example, a minimum match score can be used as athreshold value for determining that two items of content constitutes acompanion content pair for which content synchronization informationwill be generated.

Since portions of a base content and a companion content may notcorrelate with each other, the match score can be used to process basecontent and a companion content with varying ranges of correlations intoany number of groups that can be processed differently. For example,using the match score, the companion content identification module 118may synchronize an eBook with a corresponding movie adaptation.Accordingly, the user's computing device can automatically present basecontent and a companion content interchangeably when the match scoresatisfies a threshold and/or provide a subset of features related tosynchronizing the base content and a companion content when the basecontent and a companion content has a match score below a predeterminedthreshold. Illustratively, a match score below a given level may resultin an indication to a user that the base content and the companioncontent differ significantly.

Further, the combination of match score (indicative of an overall matchof the base content and the companion content) may be utilized inconjunction with one or more mismatch scores (indicative of the match ofportions of the base content to portions of the companion content) inorder to provide greater control to an end user. For example, a lowmatch score (e.g., indicating that a substantial portion of the basecontent and companion content differ) combined with a low averagemismatch score (e.g., indicating that individual portions of each itemof content generally match) may indicate a sequencing mismatch betweenthe base content and the companion content. For example, a movieadaptation of an eBook may introduce characters, places, or ideas in aslightly different order than the eBook itself. As such, synchronizationof the eBook and the film adaptation may require consuming at least oneitem outside of its intended order. In such instances, a user may benotified of the inconsistency, and may choose, for example, which itemto view out of order.

As described above with respect to identification of companion content,though automated mechanisms are described herein, embodiments of thepresent disclosure may utilize manual or semi-manual methods inconjunction with or exclusive of automated mechanisms. For example, insome embodiments, one or more parties may manually createsynchronization information for a companion content pair (e.g., aproducer, a distributor, or an end user). One skilled in the art willappreciate that a multitude of voting or crowd-sourcing techniques maybe utilized to aggregate or filter input from a variety of sources.

After synchronization information correlating the base content and thecompanion content has been generated, the content management system 102may receive, at block 406, consumption information regarding the basecontent. Consumption information may be received, for example, from acomputing device 104 outputting the base content. As described above,consumption information may identify a last consumed portion of a basecontent.

At block 408, the companion management system 102 may identify areceiving computing device to receive synchronization information. Forexample, a computing device may be identified based on user selection(e.g., via a user interface). One illustrative user interface forreceiving such a user selection will be described in more detail withreference to FIG. 5 below. In some embodiments, the receiving computingdevice may be the same computing device from which consumptioninformation was received. This may occur, for example, if a computingdevice may output both a base content (e.g., an eBook), and companioncontent (e.g., a corresponding video). In other embodiments, thereceived computing device may be different than the computing devicefrom which consumption information was received. For example, a user mayconsume a base content via an eBook reader, but desire to consumecompanion content via a television or laptop.

At block 410, the previously generated synchronization information aswell as consumption information may be transmitted to the determinedcomputing devices. Illustratively, the synchronization information mayinclude mappings of base content to companion content. In embodiments inwhich the determined computing device is not the same computing devicefrom which consumption information was received, the synchronizationinformation may further include a position of last consumption of thebase content. As such, the receiving computing device may utilize thesynchronization information to determine a point of playback within thecompanion content that corresponds to a last consumed position in thebase content.

Optionally, at block 412, the content management system 102 may transmitthe companion content or a portion thereof to the determined computingdevices. Illustratively, if the determined computing device correspondsto a DVR, the content management system 102 may transmit or queue all ora portion of the companion content to the DVR. In other embodiments, thedetermined computing devices may already have access to a copy of thecompanion content. For example, the determined computing devices mayhave previously stored the companion content, or the companion contentmay be available for streaming from a network data source. In theseembodiments, block 412 may be omitted. Thereafter, the routine 400 mayend at block 414.

By use of the routine 400, a user may be enabled to interchangeablyplayback a base content and companion content. Illustratively, a usermay pause or halt reading of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn eBook ona first computing device (e.g., an eBook reader), and the receivingcomputing device (e.g., a DVR) may enable the user to begin playback ofthe corresponding movie adaptation at a point corresponding to the lastread page of the eBook. As a further example, a user may halt reading ofan eBook on a tablet or laptop computing device, and begin playback of acompanion video at a corresponding point. The user may further beenabled to alternate between playback of the base content and thecompanion content as desired. In some embodiments, a user may be enabledto begin consumption of a companion content (e.g., a video adaptation ofan eBook), and later consume the eBook from the last watched portion ofthe companion content.

With reference to FIG. 4B, a flow diagram of an illustrative method 450for enabling presentation of a base content and supplemental contentwill be described. The method 450 may be utilized, for example, by thecontent management system 102 of FIG. 1. Though described herein withreference to a single base content, such as the eBook of The Adventuresof Huckleberry Finn the illustrative routine 450 may be carried out forany number of base contents.

At block 452, one or more subject matters of a base content may beidentified. As described above, subject matter may refer generally to atopic or subject referenced a base content (e.g., the base content inits entirety, or a portion of the base content). For example, TheAdventures of Huckleberry Finn may reference or contain subject mattersuch as Mark Twain, the nineteenth century, youth activities in thesouth, civil liberties in Pre-Civil War America, southerncolloquialisms, etc. Further, subject matter of The Adventures ofHuckleberry Finn may be more general, such as satirical fiction,southern fiction, popular American literature, etc. Still further,subject matter may be identified based on only a portion of a basecontent, such as a word, sentence, or paragraph. For example, while TheAdventures of Huckleberry Finn may not generally be directed towarddiscussion of plants or animal life, referencing within the eBook maycontain such subject matter. As such, subject matter may generally referto any subject or topic referenced by, discussed, or implicated by anyportion of a base content.

In some embodiments, the amount of subject matter of a base content maybecome quite large. As such, suitable algorithms may be used to reducethe amount of subject matter to only the most relevant subject matter.This may include, for example, identifying general themes of a basecontent (e.g., by continued reference throughout the eBook) oridentifying specific references to subjects within a base content (e.g.,citation to a specific paper or topic). In this manner, supplementalcontent may be identified that is most relevant to the base content.

At block 454, supplemental content related to the previously identifiedsubject matter may be identified. In some embodiments, search algorithmsmay be used to identify supplemental content in, for example, networkdata stores 108 or content data store 120 of FIG. 1. Supplementalcontent may be associated with the content management system 102, orotherwise unaffiliated with the content management system (e.g.,provided by another entity). For example, one example of supplementalcontent of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn may be The Adventures ofTom Sawyer (as the title Character, Tom Sawyer, is referenced throughoutthe novel). As such, if “Tom Sawyer” is identified as subject matter ofthe eBook, a search of the content data store 120 may reveal that amovie exists regarding this subject matter. In addition, a search ofnetwork data sources 108 may reveal that other supplemental contentexists, such as commentary by scholars, documentaries regarding thefictional character, etc. Searches may be carried out, for example, by asearch engine or other suitable search algorithm. Search engines andvarious search algorithms are generally known in the art, and as suchwill not be discussed further herein.

In some embodiments, the relevancy of supplemental content may be usedto determine whether to present the supplemental content to the user.For example, a search algorithm may indicate the potential relevance ofa found item of supplemental content is low (e.g., 30%). As such, thecontent management system 102 may choose to omit the item ofsupplemental content, so that the user is not presented with irrelevantcontent. In some such embodiments, a threshold relevance may beestablished, such that only very relevant supplemental content (e.g.,90% potential relevancy) is presented to the user. Further, in someembodiments, user preferences may specify the types of supplementalcontent that should be provided. For example, a user may specify therelevance threshold at which supplemental content should be provided. Asa further example, a user may indicate that only specific topics ofsupplemental content (e.g., historical, technical, etc.) should beprovided. Still further, in some embodiments, the content managementsystem 102 may enable users to rate, classify, or comment on items ofsupplemental content. As such, a user may indicate which supplementalcontent should be indicated based on this user-generated feedback (e.g.,only supplemental content rated at least 4 of fives stars, classified asinteresting, etc.).

As described above with respect to identification of companion content,though automated mechanisms are described herein, embodiments of thepresent disclosure may utilize manual or semi-manual methods inconjunction with or exclusive of automated mechanisms. For example, insome embodiments, one or more parties may manually createsynchronization information for a companion content pair (e.g., aproducer, a distributor, or an end user). One skilled in the art willappreciate that a multitude of voting or crowd-sourcing techniques maybe utilized to aggregate or filter input from a variety of sources.

At block 456, synchronization information regarding the base content andsupplemental content may be generated. Such synchronization informationmay map each item of supplemental content to one or more locationswithin the base content. In some embodiments, an item of supplementalcontent may be mapped to a specific portion of the base content. Forexample, an item of supplemental content may be referenced by a singleword, sentence, or paragraph. As such, the synchronization informationmay include a mapping of the item of supplemental content to thespecific word, sentence, or paragraph. In instances where multiplewords, sentences, or paragraphs reference an item of supplementalcontent, each referencing item may be mapped to the supplementalcontent. In other embodiments, supplemental content may regard theentirety of a base content. In these embodiments, mapping informationmay not be required.

At block 458, the content management system 102 may receive consumptioninformation regarding a base content. As described above, thisconsumption information may generally be related to the currentlyconsumed portion of a base content (e.g., a page of an eBook or a timestamp of an audio book). At block 460, the content management system 102may determine relevant supplemental content based on the receivedconsumption information and on the generated synchronizationinformation. For example, each item of supplemental content which ismapped to a word, sentence, or paragraph on a currently read portion maybe determined to be relevant supplemental content. At block 462,information regarding the relevant supplemental content may betransferred to the user's device. Such information may include, forexample, the specific words, sentences, or paragraphs which relate to anitem of supplemental content, the title or location of the supplementalcontent, or any other information regarding the supplemental content orpresentation of the supplemental content to the user. Optionally, atblock 464, the content management system 102 may transmit thesupplemental content or a portion thereof to the user's device. In otherembodiments, the user's device may already have access to thesupplemental content. For example, the user's computing devices may havepreviously stored the supplemental content, or the supplemental contentmay be available for streaming from a network data source. In theseembodiments, block 464 may be omitted.

The transmitted information regarding supplemental content (and,optionally, the supplemental content itself), may then be utilized at auser computing device to enable the user to request the supplementalcontent for consumption. For example, a user interface of an eBookreader may utilize the received information to prompt a user as to theavailability of supplemental content. One such user interface isdiscussed in more detail below with respect to FIG. 6. As such, theroutine 400 may end at block 414.

With reference to FIG. 5, an illustrative interface 500 generated on acomputing device, such as computing device 300 of FIG. 3, is shown. Theillustrative interface 500 may be utilized for presenting and selectingoptions related to interchangeable presentation of companion content. Byuse of the interface 500, a user may select content (e.g., an eBook) viaselection elements 510 or 512 presented by the interface 500. Inresponse to the selection of content, the computing device 300 maydetermine whether the user has access to companion content. Thecomputing device 300 may obtain synchronization information (e.g., froma content management system 102 and/or by content synchronizationinformation itself) and/or obtain access to another content that is partof a companion content pair that includes the selected content. Thecomputing device 300 may prompt a user to confirm a desire tosynchronize the selected content (i.e., a base content) and thecompanion content for interchangeable output. As illustrated in FIG. 5,the interface 500 can include a second portion 504 that presents anotification indicating that there is available companion content thatcan be synchronized to allow interchangeable consumption of the basecontent and the companion content. Still further, the second portion 504includes configuration components 506-508 for obtaining user inputregarding synchronization configurations. Specifically, the secondportion 504 includes input selections 508 and 510 for toggling whetherto synchronize consumption of the companion content pair to one or moreselected devices. Illustratively, a user may select input selection 508to enable interchangeable consumption of the companion content pair onthe computing device 300 (e.g., an eBook reader) and the user's DVR.That is, the user may consume an eBook on the eBook reader, haltconsumption, and begin playback of a film adaptation at a correspondingpoint on the user's DVR, and vice versa. In some embodiments, acomputing device 300 may itself be able to present companion content(e.g., where the computing device 300 has video output capability). Assuch, in these embodiments, the computing device 300 may be selectableas an option (not shown) within the second portion 504.

With reference to FIG. 6, an illustrative interface 600 generated on acomputing device, such as computing device 300 of FIG. 3, is shown. Theillustrative interface 600 may be utilized for presenting and selectingsupplemental content corresponding to a displayed base content. Asillustrated in FIG. 6, the interface 600 includes a portion 602 forpresenting a base content (e.g., an eBook). Further, the interface 600includes identifiers 604 and 608 identifying portions of the basecontent that correspond to available supplemental content.Illustratively, each identifier 604 or 608 is selectable by a user todisplay more information regarding the supplemental content. Forexample, in the illustrative user interface 600, the user has selectedidentifier 604, which resulted in the display of information dialog 606,displaying the title of the relevant supplemental content. As shown inFIG. 6, the portion of the base content identified by identifier 604 isrelated to supplemental content entitled “Civil Liberties in Pre-CivilWar America,” which may correspond, for example, to a documentaryregarding the named subject.

In some embodiments, information dialog 606 may be selectable by a userto view the supplemental content immediately or substantiallyimmediately (e.g., if the computing device 300 is capable of displayingthe supplemental content). As described above, viewing of supplementalcontent may, in some embodiments, including downloading or streaming thesupplemental content from a data source, such as a content data source120 or other network data source 108. In other embodiments, thecomputing device 300 may not be capable of displaying the supplementalcontent (e.g., when the computing device 300 is a basic eBook reader),or the user may not wish to view supplemental content on the computingdevice 300. In these instances, the supplemental content may betransmitted, queued, or otherwise made available at another computingdevice of the user (e.g., a DVR, a television, a laptop, etc.).

One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the illustrativeinterfaces described above are provided for purposes of example only,and that embodiments of the interface may implement any number orcombination of the features described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.The particular combination or functionality of features comprisingcontrol interfaces such as the illustrative control interfaces 500 and600 of FIGS. 5 and 6 may be predefined by a user or computing device300, determined by a remote service, or dynamically determined by thecomputing device 300 based on past observations of user behavior.Control interfaces 500 and 600 may be implemented on any number ofdevices as described above with reference to FIG. 3.

Although some of the examples were provided in the context of a retailenvironment in which a user purchases companion content and/orsupplemental content, any combination of features described herein maybe applied to other settings, as appropriate. For example, the user neednot purchase content of a companion content pair in order to obtaincontent synchronization information and/or synchronously consume a baseand companion content. Instead, the user may obtain access to one ormore individual content of a companion content pair by any number ofsuitable ways, for example, by borrowing, checking out, renting,permanently leasing, temporarily leasing, or any combination thereof. Ina specific example, the user may check out a movie adaptation of TheAdventures of Huckleberry Finn and interchangeably present the moviewhile reading the corresponding eBook that the user has purchased. Inanother specific example, the user may lease a movie adaptation andinterchangeably present the movie with a borrowed eBook.

Further, although some of the examples were provided in the context ofinterchangeably presenting content, any combination of featuresdescribed herein may be applied to other content synchronization, asappropriate. For example, content synchronization information can beused synchronously present both a base content and a companion contentsimultaneously.

Still further, though description above generally relates to a basecontent of text or audio, in some embodiments, base content maycorrespond to video content. For example, base content may refer to amovie or video adapted to an audio or eBook format (or that has beenadapted from an eBook or audio book). As such, the corresponding audioor eBook would constitute companion content to the base (movie or video)content.

It is to be understood that not necessarily all objects or advantagesmay be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment describedherein. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize thatcertain embodiments may be configured to operate in a manner thatachieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taughtherein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as maybe taught or suggested herein.

All of the processes described herein may be embodied in, and fullyautomated via, software code modules executed by one or more generalpurpose computers or processors. The code modules may be stored in anytype of computer-readable medium or other computer storage device. Someor all the methods may alternatively be embodied in specialized computerhardware. In addition, the components referred to herein may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof.

Conditional language such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, are otherwise understoodwithin the context as used in general to convey that certain embodimentsinclude, while other embodiments do not include, certain features,elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generallyintended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any wayrequired for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodimentsnecessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input orprompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included orare to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Conjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y and Z,”unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with thecontext as used in general to convey that an item, term, etc. may beeither X, Y or Z, or a combination thereof. Thus, such conjunctivelanguage is not generally intended to imply that certain embodimentsrequire at least one of X, at least one of Y and at least one of Z toeach be present.

Any process descriptions, elements or blocks in the flow diagramsdescribed herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should beunderstood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions ofcode which include one or more executable instructions for implementingspecific logical functions or elements in the process. Alternateimplementations are included within the scope of the embodimentsdescribed herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executedout of order from that shown, or discussed, including substantiallyconcurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionalityinvolved as would be understood by those skilled in the art.

It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may bemade to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to beunderstood as being among other acceptable examples. All suchmodifications and variations are intended to be included herein withinthe scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for facilitatingpresentation of companion content, the computer-implemented methodcomprising: under control of one or more computing devices configuredwith specific computer executable instructions, identifying a contentmatch indicating that a base content and a corresponding companioncontent can be interchangeably presented, wherein the companion contentcorresponds to a video adaptation of the base content; generatingcontent synchronization information that correlates portions of the basecontent to corresponding portions of the companion content, wherein thesynchronization information indicates at least one disparity insubstance between the base content and the companion content; receivingconsumption information regarding consumption of the base content, theconsumption information indicating a position of consumption of the basecontent; identifying a device to receive the content synchronizationinformation, wherein the content synchronization information enablesinterchangeable presentation of the base content and the companioncontent from a point corresponding to the position of consumption of thebase content; determining at least a portion of the companion content totransmit to the identified device based at least in part on thesynchronization information and the position of consumption of the basecontent; and transmitting the content synchronization information andthe determined at least a portion of the companion content to theidentified device.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein the identified device is at least one of a tablet, a laptop, adesktop, a mobile phone, a PDA, an eBook reader, a DVR, or a television.3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the videoadaptation of the base content corresponds to an adaptation of at leasta portion of the base content.
 4. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the device corresponds to a device from whichconsumption information was received.
 5. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, wherein interchangeable presentation of the base content andthe companion content comprises interchangeable presentation of thecompanion content on the identified device and the base content on anadditional device.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein interchangeable presentation of the base content and thecompanion content comprises interchangeable presentation of thecompanion content and the base content on the identified device.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the contentsynchronization information further enables synchronous presentation ofthe base content and the companion content.
 8. A system for facilitatingpresentation of companion content, the system comprising: one or moredata stores configured to store: information regarding a base content;and a companion content corresponding to a video adaptation of the basecontent; and one or more computer devices in communication with the oneor more data stores, the one or more computer devices configured to:generate synchronization information that correlates portions of thebase content to corresponding portions of the companion content, whereinthe synchronization information indicates at least one disparity insubstance between the base content and the companion content; receiveconsumption information regarding consumption of the base content, theconsumption information indicating a position of consumption of the basecontent; identify a device to facilitate interchangeable presentation ofthe base content and the companion content; determine at least a portionof the companion content to transmit to the identified device based atleast in part on the synchronization information and the position ofconsumption of the base content; and transmit the at least a portion ofthe companion content from the one or more data stores to the identifieddevice via a network.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the companioncontent is at least one of a professional adaptation of the basecontent, an amateur adaptation of the base content, a movie adaptationof the base content, or a television adaptation of the base content. 10.The system of claim 9, wherein the television adaptation is at least oneof a television movie adaptation, a television miniseries adaptation,and a television series adaptation.
 11. The system of claim 8, whereinthe one or more computing devices are further configured to identify acontent match indicating that the base content and the companion contentcan be interchangeably presented.
 12. The system of claim 8, wherein theone or more computing devices are configured to identify a content matchbased at least in part on at least one of automatic detection of acontent match or manual detection of a content match.
 13. The system ofclaim 12, wherein automatic detection of a content match comprises adetermination of a match score of the base content and the companioncontent.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the determination of amatch score between the base content and the companion content is basedat least in part on a comparison of dialog within the base content anddialog within the companion content.
 15. The system of claim 13, whereinthe determination of a match score between the base content and thecompanion content is based at least in part on a comparison of the useof non-dictionary language in the base content and the use ofnon-dictionary language in the companion content, wherein non-dictionarylanguage comprises language not included within a predefined set ofwords.
 16. A computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium having atleast one computer-executable module for facilitating presentation ofcompanion content, the at least one computer-executable modulecomprising: a content management module configured to: generatesynchronization information that correlates portions of a base contentto corresponding portions of a video adaptation of the base content,wherein the synchronization information indicates at least one disparityin substance between the base content and the video adaptation; receiveconsumption information regarding consumption of the base content, theconsumption information indicating a position of consumption of the basecontent; identify a device to receive at least a portion of thesynchronization information; determine at least a portion of the videoadaptation to transmit to the identified device based at least in parton the synchronization information and the position of consumption ofthe base content; and transmit the synchronization information to theidentified device for interchangeable presentation of the base contentand the companion content.
 17. The computer-readable, non-transitorystorage medium of claim 16, wherein the content management module isfurther configured to transmit the consumption information to theidentified device.
 18. The computer-readable, non-transitory storagemedium of claim 16, wherein the content management module is furtherconfigured to transmit at least a portion of the companion content tothe identified device.
 19. The computer-readable, non-transitory storagemedium of claim 18, wherein the content management module is configuredto stream the at least a portion of the companion content to theidentified device.
 20. The computer-readable, non-transitory storagemedium of claim 16, wherein the content management module is furtherconfigured to determine that the identified device has access to thecompanion content.
 21. The computer-readable, non-transitory storagemedium of claim 16, wherein the identified device does not correspond toa device from which consumption information was received.
 22. Thecomputer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 16, whereinthe content management module is configured to generate the contentsynchronization information based at least in part on a comparison ofdialog within the base content and dialog within the companion content.23. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 16,wherein the content management module is configured to generate thecontent synchronization information based at least in part on acomparison of the use of non-dictionary language in the base content andthe use of non-dictionary language in the companion content.